IWC's Dr Brian McIntosh presents at three Australian conferences in May

During May 2011 Dr Brian McIntosh, IWC Senior Lecturer in Integrated Water Management, presented at three conferences around Australia. Although it was a very hectic month, the outcomes were worthwhile. Read more about the presentations ...

Dr Brian McIntosh

Implementing
integrated water management: learning from the innovation process in UK
water companies

At OzWater’11 Dr McIntosh presented the results of research into the reasons why the major UK water and sewerage companies have or have not adopted innovative source control interventions (SCIs) as a means of remedying river and ground water resource quality problems including nutrients, pesticides and cryptosporidium without the need for energy intensive treatment. Understanding how to stimulate innovation and the uptake of low cost, low energy, ecologically benign approaches to water management is fundamental to reforming the way in which urban water is supplied. The research showed that direct regulation of water utilities is a key means of stimulating innovation and the adoption of new approaches to water quality management, but that these regulations are more effective if reinforced through the use of a range of secondary regulations (e.g. carbon compliance, catchment planning etc.) which act to refine the set of innovations utilities consider adopting. Direct regulation however, if too stringent, can have the opposite effect of promoting tried and tested, relatively risk free approaches to water supply.

An analysis of scale and technology in rope pump piston manufacture and supply in sub-Saharan Africa

At WASH 2011 Dr McIntosh presented a methodology for assessing the viability of rope pump spare part manufacture and supply businesses at different geographical scales in four sub-Saharan countries. The research was supported by WaterAid and will be followed up by a further refinement and validation project to finalise the methodology before use. The need to promote more effective and on-going hand pump service delivery arrangements, potentially involving the private sector, and the opportunity to do so locally (within country) to promote economic development is one of the key challenges facing the WASH community. The method developed helps inform the process of determining which kind of supply chain arrangement to promote.

Biophysical rules for stormwater harvesting in South East Queensland

At the Stormwater Industry Association of Queensland (SIAQ) 2011 State conference Dr McIntosh presented some initial results from a UWSRA sponsored project to develop a method for identifying how to parcel land in greenfield developments to harvest sufficient volume of stormwater to reliably supply sub-potable water demand, at least capital cost and without damaging environmental flows.